i have been researching all the info i can about llc's. one small question i had, that really doesnt matter, is can you pick any name for your llc. do you have to have a "company name", like xxx capital or xxx trading? are there any limitations to what you can call your business. i have been thinking of some, and was just wondering....
I think you can call it whatever you want as long as it doesn't infringe on someone elses trademark. So, don't call it Refco Capital Management -Fast
yeah, good point. what i kinda was wondering was could you call it xxx capital management even though you are not managing others money? since i am just trading my account, is there any limitations?
The naming of a company is usually done with business goals in mind*. If the whole idea of your LLC is just for your trading, and will ever be so, then the name doesn't matter. *By "business goals in mind", I mean this: say you intend to market your trading corp one day to accredited investors out there. You may want to name your corp. according to what you intend for it to do, such as "Boomer Financial Management, LLC" or "Asset Growth Strategy, LLC". That's because those keywords will denote your message to your intended clients. The name of your company won't throw them off**. But if it's just for you for now, and you're not sure what the future may hold for it, then keep it generic, because then it can be anything later on. And of course, for a small fee, you can always change the name (but then you have to redo banking accounts, etc). **That reminds me of an advertising piece I got a couple of weeks ago. There was a picture of a house on one side, the text on the other had a headline that said something like, "Capperetta & Sons". That's all, just the name of the company. The body text went on to read, "You've worked a long hard day and now you're on your way home. You're thinking about your wife and children and their comfort that you work so hard for. Relax with the security that comes from knowing that we're here. With Capperetta & Sons you never have to worry. Call us today for an appointment..." You know, they never said what their company was about and I'm thinking that they're either oil heat, alarm systems, insurance or the cosa nostra. The point I'm making is that their company name did not tell me anything about their business.
You must file papers with a state (most likely your own state). The name cannot be the same as an existing LLC (or maybe a corp, etc); I could not use my first choice for an LLC name since it already existed. (My LLC is not a trading vehicle.) Also, certain words may trigger the requirement to file additional registrations; for example, putting "Bank" in the name of your LLC would be a problem, at least in CT. You might want to check out if putting "Capital Management" in the name might trigger a requirement to register as an investment advisor in your state, since the authorities might construe your name as an advertisement for your services. I am not an attorney. Just a thought...
Your state should indicate any limitations on the name. Usually you can't use a name used by another corporation in the state (you wouldn't want to anyway), McDonalds will sue you if it sounds anything like their name, you can't use the word BANK in your name. You must use LLC or some other wording as your state suggests and you must use LLC, etc. on your bank accounts, checks and any correspondence from your LLC or you can be sued personally even if it is an LLC. Go to your book store and pick up a manual on creating an LLC pertinent to your state.
Btw, if you're still not sure on the legality of a name, just have an attorney file the papers for you. He will/should make sure the name does not violate any trademarks or state laws. The first corporation I created 7 years ago, infringed on another company's trademark and they sued me. No big deal; I simply changed the name. But after that, I've just had my attorney file all the papers for my companies. Saves me a lot of headache and is not expensive. -Fast
Ditto. When I set up an S-corp years ago for doing some electronics design contracting, I was told by my attorney that under NY state law the company could not use the word "Engineering" in its title unless one of the principals was a licensed PE (Professional Engineer). In my particular situation there was no benefit to be gained by obtaining a PE license, so I changed the company name to something else that didn't include the forbidden word. Now my attorney almost missed this one, and he himself is an engineer. So make sure that your attorney is quite familiar with the regulations governing trading entities.